World's scariest, best water slides

By Tamara Hinson, for CNN

Updated 7:11 AM ET, Tue July 8, 2014

World's best water slides9 photos

Scary slides – Meet Verrückt: The world's tallest water slide is opening soon at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Its 168-foot drop will deliver what designer John Schooley calls an "extreme thrill ride." Click through the gallery to see daring slides around the world.

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World's best water slides9 photos

Aqualoop, Ixtapan de La Sal, Mexico – On the big attraction at Ixtapan Parque Acuatico, the drop that follows a fall through a trapdoor propels riders to 60 kilometers an hour -- fast enough to make it around an almost-vertical loop.

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The Abyss, Fushun, China – At Bali Water Park in Fushun, China, northeast of Beijing, the Abyss's 29-meter-high, near-vertical oscillations and final, enormous bowl make it one of the world's most exciting water park attractions.

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King Cobra, Belek, Turkey – King Cobra is a game-changing water slide found at Maxx Royal Belek Golf & Spa in Belek, Turkey. The double-tube ride is interactive because passengers race each other. It also incorporates special effects, such as hissing sounds.

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Mammoth, Santa Claus, Indiana – As the world's first six-person water coaster, Mammoth at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana,covers more than three acres and is just less than a third of a mile long.

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Super S Ride, Hong-cheon, South Korea – At Daemyung Resort in South Korea, Python is one of the world's scariest water slides, thanks to several banked twists and turns, unbelievably tight corners and a 6-meter-wide enclosed section that sends riders flying up the sides.

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Aquaconda, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – At Aquaventure Waterpark in Dubai, the Aquaconda contains the world's first slide-within-a-slide, comprising an enclosed tube slide that weaves in and out of the framework of a flume-style ride.

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Behemoth Bowl, Guangzhou, China – "This is the largest bowl water ride in the world with a massive 18-meter diameter," says Ruth McMahon at theme park designers ProSlide Technology Inc. "The size and shape allows passengers to speed around the perimeter and make multiple revolutions with maximum centrifugal force." The ride is part of Guangzhou's Chimelong Water Park in China.

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Dawwama, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – "It's unique because it combines two iconic water rides," says Ruth McMahon at ProSlide Technology Inc. "After the first section, passengers get dropped into the world's first six-person funnel ride." The ride is part of Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi.

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Story highlights

Claiming to be the world's tallest water slide, Verrückt in Kansas will open this month

Mexico's Aqualoop features an almost-vertical loop with a drop as fast as 60 kilometers per hour

The world's first slide-within-a-slide can be found in Dubai

Verruckt will become the world's tallest water slide -- it's taller than both the Statue of Liberty and Niagara Falls -- when it opens in May in Kansas.

Until then, here are some of the world's best water slides and features that make each one unique.

Verruckt, Schlitterbahn Waterpark (Kansas)

Although the team behind Verruckt refuse to confirm its exact measurements, they've promised that it'll be the world's tallest when it opens later this month.

The Aqualoop is one of the few water slides to feature an almost-vertical loop-the-loop.

Riders start by standing on a trapdoor.

The drop that follows allows them to gain enough speed -- up to 60 kilometers an hour -- to make it around the loop.

"With the unique slide path, we had to optimize the shape of the loop to maximize the range of riders that could use it while making sure no one got stuck," says Bruce Bradley, senior engineering specialist at Whitewater theme park designers.

Considering the transparency of the slide, that could certainly prove to be embarrassing.

The park is located about 90 minutes by highway (106 kilometers) southwest of Mexico City.

Although funnel-type slides are increasingly popular, The Abyss' 29-meter-high, near-vertical oscillations and final, enormous bowl make it one of the world's most exciting water park attractions.

"By strategically adding flat panels to three sides of the funnel, the passengers in the rafts rise higher up the side walls -- 25% more than they would otherwise -- making the Abyss more thrilling than the standard cone-shape slides," explains Tat Won, senior landscape architect at Whitewater, the company that designed the slide.

The park is located in Fushun in Liaoning Province, about 665 kilometers northeast of Beijing.

Dawwama was the winner of 2013's Best Water Ride award at the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) awards.

The highlight of the six-person raft ride is an enormous 20-meter-high funnel.

"It's unique because it combines two iconic water rides," adds Ruth McMahon at ProSlide Technology Inc. "After the first section -- a fast and steep LIM-powered water coaster -- passengers get dropped into the world's first six-person funnel ride."